"A Million Men",[1] also known as "Million Men", is an unreleased song by Melanie Martinez. The song was written for the 2013 EP; however, the project was later scrapped.
Leak History
- June 4th, 2021 - Full acoustic demo is leaked in high quality.
Theme
This song is about child and sex trafficking. It speaks of a young girl named Maggie who was sold into the sex trafficking trade by her mother and how she was treated during that time. It also shows how hard it is for victims to get used to being around others and living normally after it's over.
Melanie wrote the song after watching a documentary about sex trafficking. It is often mistaken to have been written about herself or a friend since in the most popular video of the performance, it slightly cuts off her explanation of the song.
Official versions
- Studio acoustic demo (produced by unknown) — 4:13
- Worktape version (produced by Melanie) — 4:30
Videos
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Miss Maggie was way too young to understand
Why she got thrown into someone else's hands
Why she woke up to strange men
They tore her to pieces and she couldn't comprehend
Why she was locked up in a basement filled with men
Should've gone to school, instead she did them
[Pre-Chorus 1]
Don't touch me, I'm fragile
I'm bitter in my heart
Mama sold me for candy
And I was ruined from the start
[Chorus 1]
Why do you have to sell me to those mean old men?
They cut me up in places I don't even understand
It's normalcy to me, but how will my friends understand?
I'm five years old, sleeping with a million men
[Verse 2]
All grown up and her body has decayed
All those promiscuous games she had to play
No, she skipped the jungle, jungle gym phase
She's trying to look at things in a bright way
Sees a light peeking through the end of the hallway
No, she's tryna, tryna, tryna escape
[Pre-Chorus 2]
I'm running
Full force, dear
But it's harder when you're bones
I'm weak-kneed, but I'm flying
Out of this hell hole
[Chorus 2]
Why do you have to sell me to those mean old men?
They cut me up in places I don't even understand
It's normalcy to me, but how will my friends understand?
I'm ten years old, running from a million men
[Bridge]
Finally the light is coming close
No turning back, run full force
Angels swoop down and grab me
And now I'm safe away from the million men who raised me
[Chorus 3]
Why do you have to sell me to those mean old men?
They cut me up in places I don't even understand
It's normalcy to me, how will my boyfriend understand?
I'm seventeen with a history of a million men
[Outro]
Men, a million men
Men, a million men
A million men, a, a million,
A million men, a million men
Men, a million men
[Verse 1]
Miss Maggie was way too young to understand
Why she got thrown into someone else's hands
Why she woke up to strange men
They tore her to pieces and she couldn't comprehend
Why she was locked up in a basement filled with men
Should've gone to school, instead she did them
[Pre-Chorus 1]
Don't touch me, I'm fragile
I'm bitter in my heart
Mama sold me for candy
And I was ruined from the start
[Chorus 1]
Why do you have to sell me to those mean old men?
They cut me up in places I don't even understand
It's normalcy to me, but how will my friends understand?
I'm five years old, sleeping with a million men, a million men
[Verse 2]
All grown up and her body has decayed
All those promiscuous games she had to play
No, she skipped the jungle, jungle gym phase
She's trying to look at things in a bright way
Sees a light peeking through the end of the hallway
Oh, she's tryna, tryna, tryna escape
[Pre-Chorus 2]
I'm running
Full force, dear
But it's harder when you're bones
I'm weak-kneed, but I'm flying
Out of this hell hole
[Chorus 2]
Why do you have to sell me to those mean old men?
They cut me up in places I don't even understand
It's normalcy to me, but how will my friends understand?
I'm ten years old, running from a million men, a million men
[Bridge]
Finally the light is coming close
No looking back, run full force
Angels swoop down and grab me
And now I'm safe away from the million men who raised me
[Chorus 3]
Why do you have to sell me to those mean old men?
They cut me up in places I don't even understand
It's normalcy to me, how will my boyfriend understand?
I'm seventeen with a history of a million men
[Outro]
Oh, a million men
Oh, a million men
A million men, a million men,
A million, a million men
A million men, a million men
A million, a million men
A million men
Trivia
- This song was very important to Melanie, as it is about a very serious issue happening in the world.
- In one performance, Melanie changed some of the lyrics of the song and mixed up the lines. It is unknown whether this was an accident or not.
- An acoustic worktape of the song recorded and produced by Melanie on her laptop was posted by Melanie's manager, Ron Shapiro, to SoundCloud in 2013.[2]